It is difficult to obtain a comparable overview of how much water is available in Europe due to huge differences in the way countries estimate their water resources. These guidelines propose a new approach to assessing water quantity, which will make national comparisons easier. They form part...

Water pollution caused by wastewater persists despite three decades of effort to clean up European surface waters and despite the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Several EU Member States have yet to satisfy the requirements of the directive. A European...

The report reviews the challenges facing Europe to adapt to the impacts of climate change on water resources. Water is a critical sector for people's lives and the economy. Even if emissions of greenhouse gases were stabilised today, increases in temperature and the associated impacts, including...

Despite the vast amount of water on the planet, decades of unsustainable management mean that water shortages have reached crisis point in many regions. Globally, humans appropriate more than 50 % of all renewable and accessible freshwater, while billions still lack the most basic water services...

This study evaluate ex-post the effectiveness and, where possible, the effects of implementing the Structural and Cohesion Funds in the environment within three pilot countries namely Italy, Spain and Austria.

The EU has highlighted the importance of using the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) to prevent the abandonment of high nature value farmland and its intensification as a key action to halt biodiversity decline. The present report sets out to assess whether the current distribution of CAP funds is...

The continuing presence of a range of pollutants in a number of Europe's freshwaters threatens aquatic ecosystems and raises concerns for public health. Current reporting under the EU Water Framework Directive shows that a substantial proportion of Europe's freshwaters are at risk of not...

This study undertakes an analysis of the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion and of related EU policies. It is intended to contribute to and support external processes including the European Commission's Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, revision of the EU budget (e.g. regarding...

This study undertakes an analysis of the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion and of related EU policies. It is intended to contribute to and support external processes including the European Commission's Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, revision of the EU budget (e.g. regarding...

Developments in land use patterns across Europe are generating considerable concern, particularly in relation to achievement of environmental goals. Land use trends — such as urban sprawl and land abandonment — are jeopardising the future for sustainable land use. Moreover, these trends...